The problem that kept the Detroit Red Wings out of the playoffs was rather clear this season.
“We need to be better in all aspects of keeping the puck out of our net,” general manager Steve Yzerman said at his April 19 end-of-season press conference. "Not only with our goalies, but our play defensively, collectively, not just our D corps, but forwards as well."
From Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, much the same idea: “We scored a ton more goals this year. We went from 26th to 13th in goals for, and those goals helped us. But when you want to keep pushing and hope to get over that (playoff) line, I still think it's how you play team defense and keeping it out of your net.”
Need any more proof? Just watch the Florida Panthers. Up 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against a challenging New York Rangers squad, the Panthers have used their defensive play as a foundation for success. With structural emphasis on defense and more importantly the player buy-in to execute their schemes, Florida is exactly the kind of defensive team that Detroit should take notes from. They've shut down pretty much every opponent they've faced so far, and such defensive excellence has them on the cusp of their second straight Stanley Cup Final.
The numbers are gaudy. The Panthers let up the least expected goals in the regular season at just 1.78 goals per game according to stat service Moneypuck. In the playoffs, that number has only risen to 1.84 goals per game. In terms of actual goals allowed, their 2.42 goals against per game tied for the league’s lowest average. Their 2.38 goals against per game is the least among teams still alive in the playoffs. Florida doesn’t give up a whole lot, and that allows it to dominate games.
Detroit, meanwhile, had much the opposite success. It allowed 2.10 expected goals per game in the regular season, 13th worst in the NHL. In actual goals allowed, it finished ninth-worst at 3.33 goals per game. No matter how much the Red Wings scored, their defense couldn't help them make those goals matter.
Playing better defense isn't some easy fix, otherwise teams would just do it. It certainly helps that the Panthers have a roster furnished with players who excel in their own end. Selke-winning center Aleksander Barkov is the kind of defensive mastermind that teams dream of having on the roster. Defenseman Gustav Forsling became one of the best shutdown players in the league after being claimed off waivers back in 2021. And it definitely helps that Sergei Bobrovsky — especially in the playoffs — is the kind of game-stealing goaltender that can make any defense look stupendous.
But there’s also a sense of buy-in that makes such defensive excellence possible, whether spawned through coaching or through players’ tendencies. Florida loves to play defense, and because of that it excels at it.
“As a team, as a five-man unit we’re battling and doing the right things and predictable things, so it’s good to be on the ice when you know what you need to do.” Barkov said after Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Rangers in Game 5. Later, he elaborated on his team’s defensive intensity. “I think that’s our foundation and playing style that we want to play — defense first. Obviously we want to have tight gaps and all that kind of stuff but it’s all about hard work and just go on the ice and play as hard as possible and you know that the guy next to you is gonna do the same, and we just believe in each other.”
It’s easy for Detroit to say it wants to be a more responsible defensive team, but how does it actually accomplish this change? Defending in hockey is all about effort and compete, the kind of intangibles that are hard to draw out of every player.
The Red Wings' path to better defense likely includes a combination of personnel change and personal buy-in, just as the Panthers demonstrate.
Back in April, Yzerman also hit on these points, saying of the need for better defense, “It’s not just the goaltending, and defense, or it's the forwards. It’s collectively our entire team. We have to improve in that area. It’s incumbent upon our coaching staff to instill or improve, continue to work on whether it's a different system or getting better in the way we play, and improving our players in the system.”
In other words, Lalonde and his staff have to figure out how to bring that defense out of their roster. Yzerman can help him with free agent signings that prioritize defensively responsible players. Perhaps defensively responsible rookies in Marco Kasper and Carter Mazur could also chip in if they can adjust well to the intensity of the NHL level.
If the Red Wings can improve their defensive play, they might steer themselves closer to the playoffs so long as they avoid developing a scoring problem in the process. Detroit probably won't be an overnight success that plays as dominant as the Florida Panthers. Defensive success takes much time and perseverance to develop. However, defensive improvement would be a meaningful step for the Red Wings toward truly being a contender.
Take it from a former Panther-turned-Red-Wing himself, goaltender Alex Lyon: “I think every team in their maturation process comes to a realization that you can’t necessarily rely on goals all the time, and the ability to keep pucks out of your net is something you can control to a much greater degree.”
His former teammates went through that process, and it's one Detroit could take a lot of notes from. Should the Red Wings improve their defense, maybe playoff success could come soon enough.
